Judas Priest - British Steel. 1980 England

As a primer, if you read my thoughts about Def Leppard that I recently penned, then you'll know British Steel came about right at the same time. Still a freshman in high school, and winding down the year. The difference here is that I already knew about Judas Priest. One year prior, Hell Bent For Leather was the new album, and after hearing a couple of choice cuts from that, I ran out to buy the album. And I became a dedicated fan pretty much on the spot. I went about filling in their back catalog including Rocka Rolla. Then came Unleashed in the East, an album so important to my ever increasing music knowledge, it became part of my DNA. There are few albums in my collection - if any - that I've played more than this album. I'll tell these stories as I revisit them. So by the time British Steel came out, I owned 5 of the 6 Judas Priest albums (Sad Wings of Destiny was scored in the summer). Whatever the case, my anticipation was through the roof for this new album. The result? Yea, OK, it's good for sure. But I wanted more. Way more. Though it opens auspiciously enough with 'Rapid Fire', which features a killer mid section, the kind of breaks all the best metal bands were to follow for the rest of time. And the album closes as it starts, with the rampaging 'Steeler'. That's the kind of metal I wanted from Priest back then. What about the rest? Well certainly 'Metal Gods' and 'Grinder' are heavy duty slow metal pieces, that satisfy at that level. 'The Rage' is kind of the oddball track, recalling their earlier, often quirky efforts, like on Sin After Sin. Over time, it's become one of my favorites from the album. 'You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise' is decent, though Priest was starting to show their tendency to dumb things down. 'United' is one of their "football styled hymns". Very annoying. Must be an English thing. And that leaves us with their two big hits from the album, which arguably took heavy metal to its next level in terms of popularity. 'Breaking the Law' was the perfect track at the time, even if it wasn't so much to my taste. Short, punchy, good breaks and solos. It's bonehead for sure, but good bonehead. For my tastes 'Living After Midnight' is the second worst song after 'United'. And unfortunately it was the track that propelled Priest to its highest ratings. So it's no surprise that they were starting to become a confused group. All this lead to their next disastrous album Point of Entry, one of the greatest disappointments in my music listening career. They got back on the rails quickly with Screaming for Vengeance, but that's a tale for another day. 

Ownership: CD: 2010 Columbia. 30th Anniversary Edition. Thrift shop purchase (2021). The package is wonderful, and comes with new liner notes, two bonus tracks, and a full DVD that includes a 2009 concert + a 30 minute interview. I haven't seen it yet, but will eventually. As for the bonus tracks, they can be skipped. 'Red, White & Blue' is similar to 'United' and the live track of 'Grinder' doesn't add anything to the original. Overall, British Steel's rating has gone up for me. But it's mostly nostalgia honestly. This CD replaces the 2001 Legacy CD version which replaced my worn out 1980 vinyl. I'll eventually get the LP again, as a supplement.

LP: 1980 Columbia. Single sleeve. Acquired from JL (2023) fulfilling the prophesy above. The CD remains the primary in this case. 

1980; 3/22/21 (new entry)